It's Time to End the Travel Ban to Cuba

The United States Congress has achieved an
extraordinary breakthrough. In a vote aimed at eliminating the funding to
enforce the travel ban to Cuba, the legislators essentially agreed to allow
Americans to travel there. Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) summed up the key
point of the action when he said that promoting a people-to-people kind of
plan actually encourages democracy by opening Cuba to outside influences.
"It introduces different ideas, exchanges of information, a
rebuilding of a climate of trust," Delahunt said.

The votes in both the Senate and the House of
Representatives were quite impressive. The Senate vote was 59-36 and the
House vote was 227-188. While the ban would not technically be lifted, the
House and Senate each added amendments to appropriation bills for the
Treasury and Transportation departments, prohibiting the spending of any
monies to enforce the travel ban. President Bush, however, has already
announced that he would veto any bill that diminishes any of the
restrictions on Cuba, including the travel ban.

But we believe it is important to note something. The
congressional votes highlight a reality in the United States: most
Americans want the travel ban lifted. They don't understand the
justification for keeping Cuba isolated. They believe that opening the
doors to Cuba will speed change there. And they want the opportunity to
visit a place that has excited them because of the romantic stories
associated with the island.

We have always believed that the trade embargo
imposed on Cuba was an anachronism, a relic of the Cold War against the
former Soviet Union that has lost its relevance. For 40 years, the United
States has tried to force change in Cuba by isolating it in the world
community and prohibiting Americans from having any contact with the
island. The policy has failed. If anything, the U.S. intransigence has
given Cuban President Fidel Castro the pretext to blame his internal
problems on the United States, and has actually slowed down any significant
change in Cuba.

We support democratic changes in Cuba. We do
believe that all nations should observe the basic human rights of its
citizens, and that includes giving them a free voice to choose their
government.

However, in the United States, there are groups,
primarily Cuban-American exiles, who want only one thing -- the removal
of Fidel Castro from power. They insist on that event as a precondition for
any loosening of the restrictions on the island nation. Their position only
hurts the Cuban people, and denies America its most potent weapons that
have produced change around the world: the power of our market economy and
the American people's passionate belief in freedom for all.

The actions of Congress finally raise the possibility
that the U.S. government can adopt a more open and modern approach to its
relations with Cuba. By opening up the doors, Cuba will be forced to deal
with us, and in the process, we believe, the forces of change in Cuba will
be given new energy. And in the end, the Cuban people will benefit.